Activists in China Use Blockchain to Avoid Censorship

Sources claim that a student of Peking University, Yue Xin, who made accusations against the university’s authority for trying to silence her, has written an open letter to the university on issues concerning an alleged sexual harassment by one of the university’s professor. To avoid government censorship, activists have proceeded to putting up the #MeToo open letter she wrote on the Ethereum blockchain site.

Media outlets report that Yue, and about seven other students, claimed that they filed a formal request with the university on the 9th of April, in order to be granted access to information on a sexual harassment case involving one of the university’s former professors, professor Shen Yang, which allegedly happened over two decades ago. Sources report that the professor allegedly raped a female student who later committed suicide, and after investigating the case, the university allegedly dismissed the professor. However, Yue and the other students are pushing to gain access to the document regarding this matter, which they believe to still be within the institution’s possession.

Reports, however, indicate that Yue as well as her parents are allegedly being pressured by the university and state authorities to forego the issue. To bring her case to the public, Yue resorted to social media platforms to table her complaints and also garner support from different quarters. However, findings reveal that her posts on the matter have been removed from WeChat and Weibo social apps due to government censorship.

Sources state that this removal made an anonymous activist post a copy of Yue’s open letter to the university on the Ethereum blockchain after paying $0.52 in Ethereum cryptocurrency. This moves the letter out of the reach of government censorship and ensures its safety even if the government decides to restrict access to the Ethereum blockchain site in China.